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David Lingmerth turned in a 7-under-par 32-33=65 in the third round of the RBC Canadian Open and is one behind Brandt Snedeker at 13-under 203.

The Swede has twice been a runner-up in his rookie season and enters the final round at Glen Abbey with a chance to rectify that situation. After a bogey on the first hole, he carded six birdies and an eagle over his final 17 holes. The highlight was the eagle from 10'10" on the par-5 18th. Form has been excellent, notching two top 10s in his last six starts ahead of this event without missing a cut over that span.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello styled a superb second round 5-under-par 31-34=65 to open up a three shot lead on the field at the halfway stage of the UBS Hong Kong Open in Fanling.

The Spaniard signed for a 36-hole total of 11-under 129, with little known Australian Sam Brazel three back and a couple of players out on the course chasing hard. Early in his round he was as smooth as he had been in round one when hitting every single green. It helped him card two early birdies at the 2nd and 3rd. But he finally missed a green at the 176-yard par-three 5th which led to the only bogey of his two laps of Hong Kong GC this week. He closed the front nine out with back-to-back red at 8 and 9. On the back nine he tapped in for birdie at the par-five 13th, saved par from a bunker on 14 and then lashed a magnificent approach at the 426-yard par-four 15th to kick in range. It is his 8th halfway lead (three of them solo) in a European Tour event, but he is yet to convert one to a win. "I know I will win again," he said. "I've won before. I just need to keep giving myself chances. I have been working on some mistakes that maybe I have done on other occasions.&quo

Rafa Cabrera-Bello's stellar display of ball-striking took him to the top of the round one leaderboard at the UBS Hong Kong Open; his 6-under-par 32-32=64 giving him a one shot advantage over Sebastian Gros, with a pack of ten at 4-under.

The Spaniard coasted round Hong Kong GC, a course he had previously gone sub-69 on just once in ten attempts. His bogey-free lap began at the 11th hole (a quirk of the tight and fiddly layout) and he notched five consecutive pars before adding back-to-back red at 16 and 17. The front nine started with more birdies, at the 1st and 3rd before he again settled into a spell of par making, adding six of them before reaching the 367-yard par-four 10th. He found the middle of the fairway, then hit a superb wedge just beyond the flag and spun it backwards where upon it fell neatly into the hole for an eagle-2. Cabrera-Bello, a star performer throughout 2016, has failed to find the win, but were he to continue to find all 18 greens in regulation this week, something he did Thursday, then he'll give himself a great chance of breaking the duck with his last throw of the dice.

Justin Rose admits his preparations for this week's UBS Hong Kong Open aren't ideal but he remains committed to put up a strong defense of the title he won last year.

Rose had nearly two months off after the Ryder Cup to try and resolve a back issue but it flared up again on his return in last week's Hero World Challenge, forcing him to withdraw after round one. "I've done everything I can the last few days to do everything I can to defend here," he told europeantour.com. "I'm making good progress. The journey over here seemed to go well and I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I've been working hard to be honest with you for seven weeks. I've been really excited about what I've seen in my game in practice. In terms of this week, it's not ideal to come in here slightly undercooked preparation-wise but I'm hoping that the fact that I've been diligent and careful the last few days is going to allow me to be competitive for all four days." Rose shot 17-under last year to win a final-day duel with Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard.

Patrick Reed returns to China for a second appearance in the UBS Hong Kong Open played over the traditional layout at Hong Kong GC.

Four rounds in the 60s on his Fanling debut (68-69-65-67) saw Reed coast into T3 last year, although he was six shots back of the winner Justin Rose. Soon afterwards he added two more top tens in China (BMW Masters, HSBC Champions), showing his fondness for the country, but a round three 66 was his only decent lap in the most recent renewal of the latter event (T60). He’s chalked up some air miles since the Ryder Cup: Malaysia and China, then across the U.S. to the Bahamas, before back to the far east again for this week. The pattern thus far has been one good round, but at least a couple of destructive ones. He closed with a bogey-free 68 in the Hero World Challenge and at eight in the world rankings, he’s the boss man in the field on that reckoning. Can he put four good rounds together?

Overnight leader Hideki Matsuyama labored to a 1-over-par 34-39=73 in the final round of the 18th Hero World Challenge but at 18-under 270, hung on for a two-shot victory over playing competitor Henrik Stenson, who carded a 68 with three birdies and one eagle-3 against a lone bogey and finished solo second here for a second straight time (2015) and is his second straight runner-up to Matsuyama (2017 WGC-HSBC Champions).

The World No. 6, a pre-tourney 15/2 outright, was a 36-hole co-leader and the 54-hole leader by seven over Stenson and Dustin Johnson. This is his third straight worldwide win, fourth in his last five starts, and while an unofficial TOUR event, does collect 46.00 world-ranking points. The 24-year-old circled a pair of birdie-4s on a bogey-free first half to lead by six at the turn, but came home in birdie-less 3-over to make things interesting until the end, securing the win with an up-and-down par at the 18th. For the week, he totaled two eagles and 22 birdies versus four bogeys and two doubles and was 15-under on the par 5s. Matt Kuchar, Rickie Fowler and 36-hole co-leader and odds-fave Dustin Johnson finished in a three-way T3 on 13-under 275, five adrift.

Brandon Stone cruised to a stunning seven-shot victory in the Alfred Dunhill Championship, carding a final round 5-under-par 34-33=67 which overpowered the Leopard Creek Country Club specialist Charl Schwartzel, as he totalled 22-under 266 in Malelane.

This was a potentially career-altering performance, as the 23-year-old responded in spectacular style to a final round challenge from the four-time course winner, and 2011 Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel. Stone had started the round with a three shot advantage, however Schwartzel's made three early birdies which Stone couldn't initially respond to. But he was unfazed, circling 6 and 7, although squaring 8. On the back nine he raced away from the field, notching back-to-back birdies at 10-11 and 13-14, before ending bogey-birdie when the deal was done. In some ways it's a case of history repeating itself. Last year he won the Sunshine Tour's Cape Town Open, then soon after earned a first European Tour victory on home soil. Last week he was second on the Cape, and now he starts 2017 as he began 2016, with a ET win. He is the fifth straight winner of this event to claim the title by at least four shots. Ultimately the distant runner-up was Richard Sterne.

Harold Varner III became the first American to win the Australian PGA Championship since Hale Irwin in 1978 after shooting a closing 7-under-par 32-33=65 at RACV Royal Pines Resort to post 19-under 269 and secure victory by two shots.

Varner III almost ended that drought last year when losing this event in a play-off but it was a different story this time as he came from two behind at start of play to deny Andrew Dodt a wire-to-wire victory. Dodt's bogey-free 69 gave him second spot, with pre-tourney favorite Adam Scott a further two shots back in third. After a birdie at 4, Varner tied the lead with a 15-foot circle at 7 and a kick-in birdie at 8 saw him hit the front. He kept the red coming with further gains at 10, 12 and 13 but bogeys at 11 and 14 allowed Dodt to battle back into a tie. Varner wouldn't be denied though and two more birdies at 15 and 17 saw him through to his first pro victory. "That was pretty awesome, I had a lot of fun out there today," said the World No. 184. "I’m now a much better, more mature player than I was 12 months ago and this win is big for me. Winning is hard, I don’t care where you tee it up, so to get it done feels great."

Overnight co-leader Hideki Matsuyama fashioned a 7-under-par 32-33=65 in the third round of the Hero World Challenge to reach the three-quarter pole on 19-under 197, good for the low round of the day and a seven-shot lead over Henrik Stenson, who carded a 66, and overnight co-leader Dustin Johnson, who doubled the 18th for a 72.

The World No. 6 began the third frame co-leading with Johnson on 12-under after opening his third appearance in 65-67. He squared bogeys on holes 8 and 16 but overshadowed them with seven birdies and a hole-out eagle-2 at the seventh. Among the 24-year-old's seven birdies where four birdie-4s on the five par 5s, moving to 13-under for the week on the par 5s alone. The highlight of his lap was the eagle on the drivable par-4 seventh --video link below -- where he chose to layup off the tee and then jarred home a one-bounce eagle from 86 yards away. Matsuyama is going for his fourth win in his last five worldwide starts, opening the run with a three-shot win at the Japan Open and winning the WGC-HSBC and the Taiheiyo Masters by seven shots each.

Brandon Stone authored a third-round 6-under-par 31-35=66 in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek on Saturday, extending his one-shot overnight lead to three with 18 holes to play.

Stone made his European Tour breakthrough when winning last year's South African Open and he's in golden position to cash in again at a home-soil event. He posted 17-under 199 today after a lap featuring seven birdies and a lone bogey took him three clear of defending champion Charl Schwartzel, compatriot Keith Horne and England's Chris Hanson. Stone set the tone with an opening par breaker and a six-footer for birdie at 4 sparked further gains at 5 and 6. He built his lead by starting the back nine with three birdies against a bogey at 12 and finished with five straight pars, including a 25-foot save at 16, to stay in command. "I played some good golf the whole day," said the 23-year-old. "I holed some putts, hit some good shots, got a really, really lucky break on the last there but all of those missed putts for the last three days just cashed in there."

Andrew Dodt stood firm when challenged in the third round to card 2-under-par 34-36=70 and take a two shot lead into the final day of the Australian PGA Championship on 14-under 202 at RAVC Royal Pines Resort.

The Australian dialled his approach at the par-four 1st to 6'0" and drained the putt to waste little time in extending his advantage over the chasing pack to three, but a bogey at No. 7, and birdies for others, drew the gap down to just one. No matter, Dodt replied with back-to-back birdies at 8 and 9 (the third time he has done so this week). The back nine witnessed two more red numbers at 12 and 16, but dropped shots at 11 and 18 as he chases a third European Tour title. He leads by two from Ashley Hall and Harold Varner III, with Adam Scott and John Senden four adrift. "My wins have been from behind so this position is new to me," he said. "I’m really trying to embrace it and enjoy my time out there on the course. The first three rounds are irrelevant now. There are a lot of solid players, world class players behind me, so I’ve got to keep the foot down tomorrow and keep playing the way I’m playing."

Hideki Matsuyama fired a 5-under-par 34-33=67 during the second round of the Hero World Challenge, posting a halftime score of 12-under 132 to grab a share of the 36-hole lead with Dustin Johnson.

Matsuyama arrived with a co-last-place finish on his Albany record, but he also entered with the best form in the entire field, winning three of his last four individual starts worldwide. The 24-year-old has maintained that stellar form through two days of play in the Bahamas, trading 13 birdies and an eagle with just one bogey and one double bogey. Both of the blemishes have come on par 3s but he's played the par 5s at 9-under to make up the difference. Going from last-to-first in one year at this course would be quite the feat, but there are still 36 holes to play and with five par 5s on the layout, he can't afford to take his foot off the gas now.